Committed!

It's really happening; I filed the medical and liability waivers with the school on Tuesday, and gave them a deposit on the trip. No chickening out! Of course before I signed on the dotted line I got assurance that I could get a private room with a bath and a/c. I just can't adapt to the idea of living with a family of strangers or having a roommate other than my husband at this point in my life. I'm sure that the accommodations in the residencia (apparently a converted small hotel) will be very basic, but it's all part of the adventure, ¿no?

I actually began my preparations long before filling out the forms. About a month ago, while I was still sitting on the fence, I started reviewing. My last Spanish course ended almost a year ago and I have the retention span of a gnat with ADD! Because I've been working on my own, I've been relying heavily on web resources and would like to share them here for anybody who is interested in learning Spanish without benefit of formal classes. All free, and available in the comfort of your own living room:

studyspanish.com - This website was highly recommended by my first Spanish instructor, Catalina Lemos. Work your way through pronunciation, grammar, and verb drills by selecting the lesson topics in the menu bar on the left, and you will be able to complete a basic conversational Spanish course in your jammies. There is no need to sign up for the paid portions of the course; just read the lesson on each topic, take the basic quiz and the oral quiz, and do the verb drills.

spanishdict.com - Another great site, especially for quick reference. The translation feature ties into three different internet translators, so you have three times the chance of getting a translation that actually makes sense. The dictionary has sound, so you can hear the proper pronunciation of almost any word you input. Best of all, spanishdict.com offeres a free iPhone application - no more lugging your Spanish-American dictionary along when you travel!

radiolingua.com - I've downloaded many, many podcasts from Radio Lingua to my computer and my iPhone. The basic Spanish offering is "Coffee Break Spanish," which is a series of 15-20 minute lessons taught by a dude with a Scottish accent - kind of a shocker when you first hear him, lol! The only shortcoming of the Radio Linqua programs (for me) is that the instructors use the pronunciation and verb forms of Spain, rather than Mexico. They do point out the differences as they go along, however. A listing of all the Coffee Break Spanish podcasts can be found here:

http://radiolingua.com/2009/08/introducing-coffee-break-spanish-step-by-step/http://radiolingua.com/2009/08/introducing-coffee-break-spanish-step-by-step/

Their more advanced offering, "Show Time Spanish," is also available at radiolingua.com, and both series can be downloaded for free from the iTunes Store.